Chadian Recipes

Chadian food follows the line between the Sahara and the tropical south. Millet, sorghum and maize are the everyday grains, cooked into boule, a thick porridge ball eaten with a sauce, or into thinner porridges for breakfast. Daraba, a stew of okra, tomato, sweet potato, greens and peanuts, is one of the most common sauces, and meat means goat, beef or chicken, grilled or stewed. Fish from Lake Chad and the rivers is sold fresh, dried, salted or smoked and used to flavor sauces. Peanuts appear everywhere, in sauces, porridges and snacks. In the north, Arab and Sahelian traditions bring milk, dates and flatbreads, while the south eats more beans, cassava and fish. French influence is visible in stews such as jarret de boeuf and in baguettes. Tea is the most common drink, and karkanji, a spiced hibiscus drink, is served cold or hot. Millet beer is brewed in the south, but alcohol is not part of daily life in the largely Muslim north.

Staple ingredients

• millet and sorghum
• maize
• peanuts
• okra
• dried and smoked fish
• goat and beef
• hibiscus
• sweet potatoes

• Breakfast 1
• Main Dishes 2
• Side Dishes 1
• Drinks 1

Breakfast

• Bouillie (Chadian Sweet Millet and Peanut Porridge)TD30 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Daraba (Chadian Okra and Peanut Stew)TD2 hEasy
• Jarret de Boeuf (Chadian Slow-Simmered Beef Shank Stew)TD3 h 35 minEasy

Side Dishes

• Boule (Chadian Millet Porridge)TD35 minMedium

Drinks

• Karkanji (Chadian Spiced Hibiscus Drink)TD25 minEasy